I understand more clearly now that with authority comes much responsibility. The more influence I have in the world, the more wisdom I need to navigate life redemptively so that the purposes of God are fulfilled in my time. Favor amplifies the influence of my life, but favor alone doesn’t help me make good decisions. I have to seek God for His perspectives, and connect with wise people for their insights and counsel. It’s in the abundance of counselors that there is victory.

CAPACITY AND TALENT

When I hire people or ask them to join my team, I look for people with capacity, not just talent. I have hired many very kind, gifted and talented people over the last 30 years, who have no capacity…they can’t carry pressure. The weight of responsibility crushes them.

5 SOURCES OF CAPACITY

Capacity has at least 5 sources:

1. Personality – in other words, some people are just born with more capacity than others. We often use phrases like “Joe has thick skin.” We’re saying that Joe can carry a lot of pressure, or take a lot of criticism without crumbling.

2. Experience – capacity tends to grow with experience. For example, the mother who has her first child tends to worry about everything that happens to him or her. But by the time she gets to child number three, they are playing in the rain with a cold.

3. Influences – great leaders choose who influences them. They surround themselves with people who increase their capacity by giving them great counsel, and at times help carry the load with them.

4. The God factor – people who have a great relationship with God inherently have more capacity. They lean on their their relationship with Him and He helps them through their hard days. He keeps them in perfect peace when they keep their mind on Him.

5. Identity – people who know who they are can weather storms more easily than those who have no confidence in themselves. Tough times only reinforce noble peoples’ identity. Trials forge our character and reveal our godly nature, or they point out cracks in our personhood.